Fenwick Place
Encyclopedia
Fenwick Tower is a former Dalhousie University
student residence in the south end of Halifax
, Nova Scotia
, Canada
, currently undergoing redevelopment into a residential and commercial complex. It is the tallest building in Halifax at 98 metres and 33 stories, the tallest building in the Maritimes
, and the tallest residential structure in Canada east of Montreal
.
.
At the time the building was being built, the developer boldly touted it as the largest residential project east of Toronto. Once financial problems set in, the goal seemed unreachable and Fenwick Place was sold off to Dalhousie University for $5.25 million CAD as a student residence. During construction, Hurricane Beth filled the elevator shafts with seventeen feet of water. When the first residents began to move in in 1971, complaints were made of apartments missing heat, windows, and other furnishings or amenities.
On the night of September 28, 2003, Hurricane Juan
hit Halifax, forcing all Fenwick residents to the building's basement overnight. Windows in several apartments shattered and the contents of some these apartments were blown out onto the ground below. Residents were evacuated from approximately one week up to 8 weeks, depending on the damage and repair time to their individual apartments. Unlike most private landlords and other universities in the area, Dalhousie paid for all displaced students and families to be housed in hotels until the green light was given to return.
In 2009 Templeton Properties purchased Fenwick Place from Dalhousie University and has begun the refurbishment of the apartments. After purchasing Fenwick Place in 2009, Templeton Properties officially changed the name to Fenwick Tower to reflect the name that was commonly used.
There is an unmarked floor between the 15th and 16th floors which contains boilers and the like. There is no direct elevator access to this floor. Like many buildings, there is no official or marked 13th floor. Hence, the only floors whose marked number does not match the actual story of the building are the 14th and 15th floors. They are actually the 13th and 14th stories, respectively. The 15th floor down to the 2nd floor, are apartment-style living.
The main floor consists of the reception area, offices, the main foyer, and the entrance to Fenwick Street. The basement contains the aforementioned "PR" level, as well as three parking levels; "P1" (nearest to ground), "P2", and "P3".
In 2009, the sale of the historic Fenwick Place was completed going to a development and property management firm named Templeton Properties for an undisclosed price, they subsequently changed the name of the building to Fenwick Tower.
Since the purchase, Templeton Properties has reportedly been implementing extensive site improvements and renovations to the entire building; a new website was also created www.FenwickTower.ca http://fenwicktower.ca
; however, the pool was never completed. Again, local lore suggests that engineers and architects never took into account the weight of water in the pool, so it was unable to be filled. The top-floor swimming pool is one of the more popular myths about Fenwick Tower. In fact, after taking over the project, Dalhousie decided that the cost of installing repeater pumps throughout the building to pump the water to the top would be prohibitively expensive, and scrapped the idea of the pool before construction reached that phase.
Other myths about Fenwick Tower include:
Dalhousie University
Dalhousie University is a public research university located in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. The university comprises eleven faculties including Schulich School of Law and Dalhousie University Faculty of Medicine. It also includes the faculties of architecture, planning and engineering located at...
student residence in the south end of Halifax
Halifax Regional Municipality, Nova Scotia
Halifax Regional Municipality is the capital of the province of Nova Scotia, Canada. The Regional Municipality had a 2006 census population of 372,679, while the metropolitan area had a 2010 estimated population of 403,188, and the urban area of Halifax had a population of 282,924...
, Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, currently undergoing redevelopment into a residential and commercial complex. It is the tallest building in Halifax at 98 metres and 33 stories, the tallest building in the Maritimes
Maritimes
The Maritime provinces, also called the Maritimes or the Canadian Maritimes, is a region of Eastern Canada consisting of three provinces, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island. On the Atlantic coast, the Maritimes are a subregion of Atlantic Canada, which also includes the...
, and the tallest residential structure in Canada east of Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
.
Construction
The building was completed in 1971 and was officially named Fenwick Place, though most Halifax-area residents referred to it as Fenwick Tower. It occupies a property between Fenwick Street and South Street; it takes its name from Fenwick Street which in turn honours Sir William Fenwick Williams, former Lieutenant Governor of Nova ScotiaLieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia
The Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia is the viceregal representative in Nova Scotia of the Canadian monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, who operates distinctly within the province but is also shared equally with the ten other jurisdictions of Canada and resides predominantly in her oldest realm, the...
.
At the time the building was being built, the developer boldly touted it as the largest residential project east of Toronto. Once financial problems set in, the goal seemed unreachable and Fenwick Place was sold off to Dalhousie University for $5.25 million CAD as a student residence. During construction, Hurricane Beth filled the elevator shafts with seventeen feet of water. When the first residents began to move in in 1971, complaints were made of apartments missing heat, windows, and other furnishings or amenities.
Hurricane Juan
Hurricane Juan
Hurricane Juan was a significant hurricane that struck the southern part of Atlantic Canada in late September 2003. It was the tenth named storm and the sixth hurricane of the 2003 Atlantic hurricane season. Juan formed southeast of Bermuda on September 24, 2003 out of a tropical wave that tracked...
hit Halifax, forcing all Fenwick residents to the building's basement overnight. Windows in several apartments shattered and the contents of some these apartments were blown out onto the ground below. Residents were evacuated from approximately one week up to 8 weeks, depending on the damage and repair time to their individual apartments. Unlike most private landlords and other universities in the area, Dalhousie paid for all displaced students and families to be housed in hotels until the green light was given to return.
Sale
In 2008, the university hired a firm to move towards the sale of the building. Spokespeople downplayed the possibility that the building might be demolished, citing the rarity of a building this tall in Halifax, coupled with the difficulty in building a new one. They also suggested a refurbishment would be much more likely, and that a sale would take some time to go through, given the size and complexity of the project.In 2009 Templeton Properties purchased Fenwick Place from Dalhousie University and has begun the refurbishment of the apartments. After purchasing Fenwick Place in 2009, Templeton Properties officially changed the name to Fenwick Tower to reflect the name that was commonly used.
Elevators
There are four elevators in the building. One is an express elevator, permitting access to only the basement, lobby, and uppermost floors. Another features doors on either end of the cabin, and is often used as a service elevator. The two remaining are local elevators servicing all floors. All elevators in Fenwick use the older-style thermally-activated buttons. There is no "up" button on most floors. To go up to another floor, users must catch an elevator on its way down, or walk up flights of stairs. This is to facilitate quicker movement down to the main level.Floors
Fenwick Tower consists of 33 stories, not including an additional elevator control room at the top, also containing an east-facing webcam run by the Chebucto Community Net. The 32nd and 33rd floors are used for international exchange students, as well as hearing and speech clinics associated with the School of Human Communication Disorders, which also occupies the "PR" floor (the first underground floor). The 31st floor, which lacks direct elevator access, contains mechanical rooms. The 30th floor contain storage areas which jut down to the floor below in some places. The 29th floor down to the 16th floor are apartment-style living.There is an unmarked floor between the 15th and 16th floors which contains boilers and the like. There is no direct elevator access to this floor. Like many buildings, there is no official or marked 13th floor. Hence, the only floors whose marked number does not match the actual story of the building are the 14th and 15th floors. They are actually the 13th and 14th stories, respectively. The 15th floor down to the 2nd floor, are apartment-style living.
The main floor consists of the reception area, offices, the main foyer, and the entrance to Fenwick Street. The basement contains the aforementioned "PR" level, as well as three parking levels; "P1" (nearest to ground), "P2", and "P3".
In 2009, the sale of the historic Fenwick Place was completed going to a development and property management firm named Templeton Properties for an undisclosed price, they subsequently changed the name of the building to Fenwick Tower.
Since the purchase, Templeton Properties has reportedly been implementing extensive site improvements and renovations to the entire building; a new website was also created www.FenwickTower.ca http://fenwicktower.ca
Mythology
Local lore suggests that the top two floors of the building were designed to contain a swimming poolSwimming pool
A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, or simply a pool, is a container filled with water intended for swimming or water-based recreation. There are many standard sizes; the largest is the Olympic-size swimming pool...
; however, the pool was never completed. Again, local lore suggests that engineers and architects never took into account the weight of water in the pool, so it was unable to be filled. The top-floor swimming pool is one of the more popular myths about Fenwick Tower. In fact, after taking over the project, Dalhousie decided that the cost of installing repeater pumps throughout the building to pump the water to the top would be prohibitively expensive, and scrapped the idea of the pool before construction reached that phase.
Other myths about Fenwick Tower include:
- that not all the bedrooms have windows
- that the top two floors suffered extensive damage in a 1994 fire
- that the developer committed suicide
- that the building sways so dramatically in the wind that water in the toilets sloshes (in fact, the building sways 5 inches in 80 mph wind, 3 inches less the building code regulations in Halifax)